What do you put in your roof rack?

Ryan_S

Ryan_S

New member
Everyone has sweet safari looking roof racks on their 4R. I feel like I need a rack too, to haul gear, or jerry cans, or something, but I never see any pictures of racks loaded with gear.

How much stuff do people put on the roof? What sort of stuff do you put up there?

Could people post up some pictures of their racks loaded with gear? Every picture I've found so far is empty racks.
 
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I feel like it's probably safe to say that MOST people RARELY use their rack. For many of them, it's more of an aesthetic thing or a place to mount more lights. And there will be a whole bunch of people that say that that's no true and that they use their rack all the time for everything but believe what you want. For the people that do use them, some put a spare tire (or two if they are doing overland and don't have/want a rear carrier), some attach those roll out canopies, hi-lifts, coolers, camping gear, jerry cans, bags full of trash, anything you don't want in the cabin for some reason or other.

With all that being said, I really want one. And I won't use it often when I get it :bigok:
 
I agree, Id bet most people don't use them that much, or they put stuff up there that they rarely need, which is a good place I guess.

I like them, they do look cool, and have been thinking about getting one, but I think a rear tire carrier, with places for a hi lift and jerry cans would be better for me. I always see people put a spare tire up on their rack and I always wonder how the hell they are going to get that thing down! Seems impractical to me. Then again, I'm only 5'7"
 
kylebacc said:
I feel like it's probably safe to say that MOST people RARELY use their rack. For many of them, it's more of an aesthetic thing or a place to mount more lights. And there will be a whole bunch of people that say that that's no true and that they use their rack all the time for everything but believe what you want. For the people that do use them, some put a spare tire (or two if they are doing overland and don't have/want a rear carrier), some attach those roll out canopies, hi-lifts, coolers, camping gear, jerry cans, bags full of trash, anything you don't want in the cabin for some reason or other.

With all that being said, I really want one. And I won't use it often when I get it :bigok:
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That last part :dancin: me too
 
Probably 90% of the people get them for looks. And you wouldn't want heavy items like spare tires and full jerry cans on your roof anyway.
 
coveted but rarely used

just yesterday I ran my aluminum cans down to the recycling center. I had 4 large garbage bags of crushed cans in the rack to supplement an entire back end full of them. I always save up to take in over 100 lbs as they pay a bit better for over 100 lbs

185 lbs paid me $111. 60 cents a pound

rack comes in handy for firewood when camping-I throw an old cargo blanket up there to protect the roof from twigs and pinecones.

misbehaving children....just kidding

an important consideration for me was whether my ride would still fit in my garage with a rack and my lift. So I made sure to mount my rack flush with the roof as opposed to up on the roof rack rails. Pics on my Facebook link.

So remember to keep such things in mind before you spend your money on one....
 
I use mine for when I go camping but if it isn't being used much I remove it and it only takes about 15 minutes but I do get use in the summertime.
 
RonMAIDEN said:
I use mine for when I go camping
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Same here. I load up all of our sleeping bags, tents, and water bladders. I would never haul a spare tire up there. When I am not camping, i use it to move things around town. I loaded a coffee table, a desk, a bookshelf. To me it's easier to load it up there and winch it down rather than clearing stuff out of the inside, moving my sub and amp, putting my seats down and then loading. I think I have an advantage too being that i have an abnormally large rack meant for a suburban.

heres a shot camping:
IMG_0736.jpg~original
 
Ryan_S said:
How much stuff do people put on the roof? What sort of stuff do you put up there?

Could people post up some pictures of their racks loaded with gear? Every picture I've found so far is empty racks.
Click to expand...

Mainly it's for the Hi-lift and shovels. It also serves as a place for anything extra that doesn't fit in my normal setup inside the vehicle. Lastly, it's a place to stand with a camera or binoculars.

Standingonroofrackcrop.jpg~original
 
I don't have a Safari style rack, but I do use my roof rack all the time to haul my toys. Here's a picture of my 3rd gen loaded up. Now, I just need to get my 5th gen outfitted for this. However, the 5th gen isn't as well supported as to various roof mounting options.
 

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It's great to finally get some pics with gear. I need to find a rack to hold the random stuff, but also be able to put the bikes up there sometimes.

I like Yakima stuff, but I'm not crazy about their baskets. Maybe I need some sort of rack with custom Yakima load bar mounts.

Anyone have any ideas about what load limits are for the roof?
 
I don't use it all the time...but it is handy.
 

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4th gen roof rack end cap/cover

I just purchased a 2006 4runner but the end cap on the drivers side roof rack is missing, wondering if anyone who has replaced their roof rack has one.
 
booyuhka said:
I just purchased a 2006 4runner but the end cap on the drivers side roof rack is missing, wondering if anyone who has replaced their roof rack has one.
Click to expand...

Is your new truck black?

Those end caps are expensive from the dealer. I would try posting in the want to buy section of the forum.
 
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